Farewell to Madeleine Riffaud - Valiant Soldier For Peace

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Madeleine Riffaud, born on August 23, 1924, in the village of Arvillers in the Somme department of northern France, was a French resistance fighter, poet, and journalist. Joining the fight against the German fascists at the age of 18, she became one of the iconic French revolutionaries for her bravery in World War II.

She was also one of the first French war correspondents and one of the first anti-colonial activists. Madeleine Riffaud was awarded the highest honors of France, including the Legion of Honor in 1946 and the Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit in 2009.

Madeleine Riffaud (August 23, 1924 - August 23, 2024) wholeheartedly supported Vietnam's struggle for independence, freedom, and peace. Photo: Maitron

As a war correspondent for Humanité, the newspaper of the French Communist Party, she was directly involved in the war in Algeria and later followed and wrote about the war waged by US imperialism in Vietnam.

After the victory at Dien Bien Phu in 1955, Madeleine Riffaud first came to Vietnam to report on the country and met President Ho Chi Minh. In late 1964, Madeleine Riffaud returned to Hanoi, met President Ho Chi Minh again, and then went to South Vietnam to directly learn about the struggle of the South Vietnamese people.

Madeleine Riffaud cherished her meeting with President Ho Chi Minh on September 19, 1966, in Hanoi. She was particularly touched when he affectionately referred to her as "daughter" during his visit to France.

In 1966, as the US aggression escalated and expanded the war to the North, bombing Hanoi, Haiphong, and other cities, Madeleine Riffaud came to North Vietnam to film and report on the heroic struggle of the Vietnamese people. She was honored to meet and converse with President Ho Chi Minh twice that year. After this trip, she wrote another work titled "Au Nord Vietnam. Ecriet sous les bombes" (roughly translated as "In North Vietnam, Written Under Bombs"). The book was published in Paris in 1967 and was known to readers around the world.

Her reports, articles written under bombs, and subsequent books, sharing the lives, sacrifices, and sufferings of Vietnamese soldiers and people, are invaluable documents that have helped people around the world better understand the war in Vietnam.

The special affection that Madeleine Riffaud has held for Vietnam and its people, from the resistance war to the present day, has always been a great source of encouragement and inspiration.

In recognition of her significant contributions to the national liberation cause, the Vietnamese State and Government awarded Madeleine Riffaud the First-Class Resistance Order on the occasion of the liberation of the South on April 30, 1984, and the Friendship Order on August 24, 2005.

Even in her old age, Madeleine Riffaud's memory of the war years in Vietnam remains remarkably sharp. Having experienced such perilous moments and witnessing the extraordinary bravery of the Vietnamese people, she often reiterated her unwavering belief that no matter how difficult the circumstances, the Vietnamese people would never waver, but would continue to fight until they achieved complete victory, and built a prosperous country as envisioned by the great President Ho Chi Minh.

The Vietnamese people will always cherish the memory of Madeleine Riffaud. Madeleine Riffaud, the French revolutionary fighter, will be eternally remembered by the peace-loving French and the patriotic Vietnamese.

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